Darkness
by TheDarkIstruments
Summary: 4 years after the adventure with the Red Death. A dark shadow has spread itself over Berk. Hiccup finds that he is full of questions as to what is happening around him. But are the answers really worth happening when they could bring you entire world down.(My first story so rated T for safety, however may change as story continues)
1. Chapter 1- A night time stroll

It had been over four years since the escapade with the 'Red Death' and things had only gotten more chaotic since them with all the adventures Hiccup and the gang had been having with the academy and all those who had opposed Berk's dragon policy.

Hiccup was now eighteen years of age and had grown a considerable amount since then, his thin body now filled with thick, toned muscle, which was unlike most Vikings being much smaller. Small auburn stubble was begging to form around his precise jaw line and he had grown to about 5.12 ft tall. His old fur vest had been replaced with pitch black armor that had a red dragon etched into one of the shoulders pads and his prosthetic had been through many adjustments to cope with the added height and body mass that had been applied over the years.

His companion Toothless the Nightfury followed closely behind him, as they strolled through the small town of Berk and had gone through many changes as well, he was now double the size he was before and even heavier, which proved difficulty at first, what with the huts weak rafters compared to the enormous scaly lizard body.

As Hiccup trailed down the gravel ground path towards the forge, when unexpected forms seemed to catch his eyes off in the distance. Sensing his friend nerved face, Toothless crooned in sympathy for his rider trying to other some comfort to the distracted young man.

"Buddy, I think we are going to have to take a small detour before we go and help Gobber with the new weapons" said Hiccup, his eyes still focused on the forms that now turned out to be two figures standing up top of the hill.

Hiccup slowly walked/ hobbled up the hill, as he got closer his heart leaped inside of his chest as the familiar figure was caught in his sight, however he was not sure what the burly blonde lass was doing with the hooded figure. Curiosity getting the better of him he decided to hide behind one of the rocks and watch the scene play out, luckily it was night time on the 18 ft creature laying down beside him would of easily of given away his intentions.

"Look girl, I haven't got time for your farthing about, you need to sign that contract of ours or it could end badly" The Hooded figure snarled at the girl.

From far away you would not of been able to see the figures tightly grasped hand grabbing hold of the blondes small wrist.

"Get your dirty hand of me or do you want someone to see this little drama of a show we are putting on, especially you know who" she replied.

Realizing the mistake the man let go of her hand and the lady hand shot up to rub the red mark that had formed.

"You have one more week or its bye bye to your little secret and we wouldn't want that now would we".

Hiccup was barely able to make out what the two were talking to each other about and risking getting closer could blow the two's cover sky high. What contract could they possibly be talking about. Hiccup was sure that the girl didn't have any dark luring secrets that he did not know about, they had been friends for years, even though he wanted to be a little more than her friend, he was sure she would never except him.

Suddenly the two turned away from each other as if sensing hiccups presence and ran off in the opposite directions; before he could react they had disappeared quicker than a NightFury into the night.

But any question now would have to wait until the morning and you could guarantee the dragon rider had a lot of questions brewing in that mind of his. However his pulled out of his thoughts when a thick had grabbed him by his hair and dragged him to the forge.

"Thought you could sneak away and go flying with toothless now" said the blacksmith sternly at his apprentice.

The teen grumbled something along the lines of 'lousy old sod' before being hit on the back of the head with a iron replacement for his tutors hand.

"Ouch!" Hiccup cried.

"You deserved that, now come help this lousy old sod with some work you promised to help with"

Toothless could only fall to the floor in laughter at the sight that was taking part before him, but even he still ponder some questions on the previous mysterious events that he had seen before him. A nervous twist in his over sized stomach told him that whatever it was it was not good.

Realizing the distance he was away from the apprentice and his master he decided to follow them to the forge. None of them knowing they were being watched at that exact moment.


	2. Chapter 2- Bath time!

**Wow… Thank you so much for taking the time to view my story, I hope you found it interesting and will continue to see how the plot plays out. Once again thank you so much I never thought it would get that much attention…Just wow. **

**Sorry if there were any spelling mistakes or inaccurate detail on the characters, for example the red mark being a Viking and not a dragon, but personally I think it would look better with a dragon.**

**Thank you to 'snoopykid' for following and liking the story and also 'My Demonic Heart and Soul' for following also, I hope the next chapter encourages you to read on.**

**Reviews are much appreciated, thanks. Hope you enjoy.**

Chapter Two

Bath time!

Hiccup trudge back to himself murmuring all the way about the stupid idiot making him do extra work because he was a little sidetracked with a pretty blonde, wait no, a amazingly attractive blonde with fierce blue eyes. Toothless rolled his eyes at his companion, why couldn't humans just tell people how they feel and get it over and done with.

"Loyal", Hiccup replied, "I did not see you trying to pluck me away from Gobber grasp now"

Toothless big round face pouted at his rider asking for forgiveness.

"Its ok bud, I didn't mean it."

Hiccup turned around to face the oversized lizard and scratched the underside of his chin careful not to hint that pressure point that would make him collapse; no one would feel like dragging Toothless's carcass up the hill in the middle of the night and never did him for a start.

The rider still contempt with scratching his dragon seemed to fail to notice the smirk that had spread across his face. 'Got you' toothless thought to himself before completely drool covering his rider in one long sticky swipe of his pink tongue.

"Uhh toothless you know that don't wash out" said hiccup, now preoccupied with wiping dragon drool of his suit.

The pair continued to walk home still unaware that figure had been watching them all night smirking to them.

_**XXX**_

The bright sun of Berk rose over the archipelago island awaking its earlier morning inhabitants that a new day had arisen. However for one late morning snoozer he had another way of being awaken.

Splash!

"Ahh" screamed the auburn haired boy as he was awoken by a bucket of water that now drenches his entire body and the surrounding sheets.

"Son, your dragon is currently eating you breakfast that you failed to be notified of, even though I have been calling you for it" Said the tall man, who slightly towered over Hiccup himself.

Before Hiccup stood Stoic the Vast, chief of the 'Hairy Hooligan Tribe' and so happened to be his father. Unlike Hiccup, Stoic was huge in size and made him look like a toothpick. He had thick muscular arms and body, his misty green eyes showed fierceness but the diplomacy and kindness of a great chief. His long auburn beard hang down over his chest, a thick moustache took it place under his nose covering any signs of a mouth.

"And I needed a bucket of water to notify me"

"Get dressed and eat any of the remaining food that was made for you and then meet me at the 'Great Hall', there is a wash day waiting Gobber and you know how he is with baths" Stoic replied.

Hiccup cringed as the idea of giving the black smith a wash, especially after the last few times ended up chasing a half naked Gobber through the street. No one would get there image out of their head for a long time and it would most likely follow them into the next life.

Stoic exited the room and allowed his son to get dressed while he made his way over to the great hall to discuss tactics with the other Vikings on what to do.

As Stoic left his hut behind he turned round to the mark shift barn he had assembled for his dragon 'Thornado', a sea blue 'Thunderdrum' that he had met on an adventure he had with his son when he was younger.

Thornado was flat like a pancake and had white dots spotted all along his back. Gil like scales surrounded his neck and his curved white overlapping teeth hung out over his jaw as a warning not to mess with him. He had a white underbelly and his legs were short and thin, his eyes small but menacing. Overall Thornado was not someone you would like to get on the wrong side off.

"Good morning, how's my warrior doing today" Stoic said as he patted the dragon's snout.

Stoic tipped over a barrel of fish and was quickly eaten up by the hungry dragon. Knowing that the dragon was satisfied with his me, He climbed onto the dragons back as he met the cold morning air as they rode towards the great hall to check on preparations.

_**XXX**_

Once dressed and had managed to wrestle for the rest of his breakfast with the Nightfury, Hiccup made his way over to the Great Hall ready to discuss plans, but mostly to get some pondering questions of his mind should he bump into the blonde.

As he walked through town he was greeted with many 'hellos' or 'good morning' from the other residents of Berk. Even though Berk was small compared to other villages it made up with the family connection everyone had with each other.

As hiccup approached the great Hall he searched through the crowd of people for one particular figure, the usual crowd was there Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Disappointed that he could not find her he turned his attention back to the task at hand. Stoic called the group over and began the plan.

"Fishlegs you and Hiccup gather the tub and fill it with water" Shouted Stoic.

"Yes sir"

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout make sure he doesn't get away", He ordered.

"Doing it now sir"

"I'll go get the victim, all right spread out and do what you need to do", Said Stoic.

Each group went off in their different directions, leaving Hiccup and Fishlegs to fetch the water for the bath.

Fishlegs had also changed over the years, he grown taller and his tummy fat had become full muscle instead from all the flying the group had been doing and helping his dad at the shipyard making the boats.

"Hey Fishlegs" hiccup asked "I don't suppose you have seen Astrid around anywhere have you, just wondering, you know caring for a friend".

"We both now you care for her Hiccup, and no I haven't" Fishlegs grinned at the blush that had surrounded Hiccups face.

Fishlegs and Hiccup had become best of friends over the years and knew each other like a book, Hiccups liking for Astrid was clear as the light of day, so why he tried to hide it was completely confusing for both dragon and Viking kind.

"Who says I have feelings for her", Hiccup said failing at trying to hide his blush, "We need to get this tub full before the other get here".

The two got the tub ready for Gobber and waited for the stinky Viking to come. In the mean time the two talked about dragons and various other things until suddenly they heard the family chorus of noise that meant the chase had began.

"Toothless and I are going to help the others with the rounding up, stay here and guard the tub" said Hiccup.

"Come on bud, let's go and help them out". The two friends were lightening quickly into the air and on their way to help, leaving Fishlegs with his dragon behind in a cloud of dust.

"Well it just look likes it me and you Meatlug" said Fishlegs, wiping the dust of his fur vest.

Meatlug was Fishlegs Gronkle and was kind and caring, the two had a bond that could rival even hiccup and Toothless and were rarely apart from each other sides. Many joked that is Fishlegs didn't need a girlfriend that he was already married to Meatlug.

_**XXX**_

After successfully capturing Gobber, after a long struggle and some very unpleasant sights that none of the young adults were not soon to they placed the blacksmith into the tub and began to wash the dirty Viking until he shined.

Constantly throughout the morning Hiccup mind was elsewhere and he pondered on how he was going to confront her on last night's events.

The shouting from Gobber quickly brought Hiccup back to real life.

"Traitor, I can't believe I ever trusted you, after all I have done and you did this", Gobber continued to shout, "The stench of a Viking should be worn like a badge of honor".

He was soon shut up when Stoic dipped his friends head into the tub. The young rider's confrontation would have to happen latter.


	3. Chapter 3 - Promises and secrets

**Wow my first review, thank you very much 'Dawnbreaker Dragon' for your comments and I do wonder where Astrid has gone and gotten herself into this time ; ). Once again thank you for following this story, I promise you that the story will get more interesting as each chapter is posted.**

**Thank you**** 'Ginnsaltius' for following the story, I hope you enjoy the plot and continue to read.**

**Another thank you to 'm4yui' for liking the story, hope you like the developments in this chapter and continue to find out what happens.**

**I now have had 313 views, which is outstanding since this is my first story and I was never expecting this. I am sorry for any spelling mistakes or misunderstanding of characters personalities or characteristics. **

**Once again thank you and reviews are much appreciated. **

Chapter Three

Promises and Secrets

The path was long and twisted at various places, the think, dense forest trees loomed over head, blocking out any sunlight and making it fairly difficult for me to see anything, judging my every action. I felt like this was the Gods punishment for me, to be constantly viewed as a traitor to my village and to be surrounded in darkness. The hut was not far from here, but there was a steep hill climb to climb which was barely accessible for dragons and impossible for Vikings, but nothing would direct me of my path, I had a promise to keep and I was not going to break it.

The hut was small itself and contained only the bare necessities needed to survive out in these climates. Outside was a small porch that led to the front door of the house and a small barn made for a dragon was positioned next to it.

As I got closer I could hear the faint moans coming from inside, guilt rushed through my veins and I quicken my paced towards the front door of the hut. It was oak and had a secure look keeping it tightly shut and kept out any intruders that stumbled along it.

The moans were getting louder and louder, each moan hitting me like iron Gronkle hammers against my heart, light but deadly. After finally managing to open the thick wooden, oak door I sprinted to the back room and comforted it.

"Shush it's ok, its fine, its ok" I reassured it. "It's going to be ok, I hope"

_**XXX**_

As soon as Gobber's wash was over Hiccup headed over to the cove, if she was going to be anywhere during this time of day it would be there. Luckily he did not get soaked like the others during bath time, so he did not need to change.

He and Toothless were flying over to the cove, while Hiccup pondered what he was going to say to Astrid.

"What am I going to do Toothless, I haven't seen her in a year after she went on that fishing trip with her family and even then it's only been a quick hello when we have passed each other in the village."

"Look at me talking to a dragon again, they say that's the first sign of madness" said Hiccup.

The Dragon made grumble noises and rolled his eyes at his riders comment, which if he were to speak in Norse it would have been 'Your all ready mad, I'm surprised you made it past your eighteenth birthday'.

"Relieving" Hiccup sarcastically retorted.

Toothless responded with a thick ear flap to the rider's face, why he hadn't worn his mask that day he wondered to himself on top of everything else that had been happening.

"Note to self, always wear mask when riding with an obnoxious Nightfury" Hiccup snorted.

Earning another slap from Toothless, Hiccup continued back to his previous conversation.

"What will I say", Hiccup thought for a moment before responding, "Hi Astrid, it's been awhile since we last talked and by the way who was it you talking to last night, not like I was spying or anything. Or how about hi Astrid I was spying on you last night, who were you talking too and what, is this contract you were talking about".

Hiccup once again stopped to think before he considered being suave and flirty about the situation. "Astrid you look beautiful this afternoon, what have you been up to this time you bad, bad girl". However, he was sure that would take away the thing that made him a man and remove his other leg in the process.

"Perhaps I should consider ignoring what happened, Astrid always has a reason to why she does stuff, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about hey" said Hiccup, not sure who he was reassuring himself or the dragon that he sat on top of.

As they were reaching their destination, Hiccups eyes caught sight of his target below.

"Here goes nothing toothless" Hiccup said, crossing his fingers behind his back.

Hiccup instructed toothless to dive and land inside the Cove in front of the rock she was sitting in front off so he would not startle her, even though with Astrid's pristine senses she probably new they were already there. That was one of the many long list of things he liked about the lass and trust me there was a long list.

Seeing that Stormfly, Astrid's 'Deadly Nadder', was not around Hiccup let go of a breath he didn't know that he was holding, at least she couldn't go far if she decided to run away for him.

Confused at why he even thought that, he got off his dragon and made his way over to her.

"Good evening Mi'lady, long time no see" said Hiccup as he walked over to where she was sitting on a rock sharpening her axe.

He was surprised he could even manage a few words; at close look Hiccup could see that Astrid was even more beautiful than last time. She had filled out a lot more in all the right places, her hair was still worn in that single braid she always had, trying to keep her fringe away from her eyes, but doing a bad job of it. She wore a plain dark red top, a fur cape that covered her neck and went down her back. The typical spiked skirt was found hanging around her slim lined waist with a holder for her dagger, which was accompanied by neutral coloured leggings and a pair of thick fur boots. On her arms were metal shoulder pads and gloves the stopped halfway up her fingers and arms.

When she got up to walk towards him, he could not help but notice that her hips slightly swayed from side to side as she got closer her arm came up and instead of the kiss or hug he was hoping to get, a sharp pain in his arm awoke him to the fact that she had hit him.

"That's for gazing at me instead of just talking" Astrid said sharply, her usually play tone replaced with anger, unfortunately for Hiccup he didn't notice it.

"And" he replied, excited for the next part, he could already feel his body warm up for the typical tender kiss that followed afterwards.

"Oh you are so getting it" Astrid said her face furious with anger at the boy's suggestion.

Her arm once again came up and plummeted towards Hiccups bicep, sending him flying back onto the hard ground below, Toothless smirked in the background at his friend's utter cluelessness at how to handle female Vikings.

"Ouch!" Hiccup responded "What is it with people hitting me recently".

"Right" Astrid barely had timed to respond as Toothless butted in between the two to defend his poor rider from the fury of the female valkyrie, before she decided upon her next victim.

"Thanks bud" Hiccup whispered into his friend's ear.

"Toothless back off, this is between me and him" Astrid shouted.

Toothless dared to budge from his position between the two young adults but at the same time a mad Astrid was something anything with half a brain should be petrified off. Toothless made a quick pray that he could remain alive to see the next day.

"What did I do?" said Hiccup; still lying on the ground, he was confused at why his best friend was acting the way she was.

More anger was boiling up through Astrid veins, if he made one more mistake he would pay for it with a sharp axe to his privates. How was the young, intelligent rider so blind to what was in front of him she thought.

"Well then what did I do?" Hiccup was getting mad and a bit upset that he had no idea of what was happening around him.

The Valkyrie was about to bring up her axe when a familiar roar of a terrible terror was heard approaching. The dragon flew over towards Astrid and drop down a piece of parchment into her hands, it was long and had a dark black seal posted onto the front of it.

The island of Berk used Terrible Terrors to send quick messages or letters to people, as the dragons could maneuver much quicker than that of the average person or ship, so mail was easier to come by these days instead of waiting for weeks for it to arrive.

This particular Terror had adopted the name Scar by its owners so called because of the small scar that trailed along its scaly back that it had received when trying to break out of a dragon trap years ago.

The message read:

'_I have decided you have got only twenty four hours until I little contract expires and everyone knows the truth. You better sign that contract, the clocks ticking. Tick-tock, Tick-tock._'

Astrid hid her face as a small tear fell down it; she tucked the message into her belt and said a quick 'bye' to Hiccup before bolting down the path towards the village.

Hiccup got off the ground quickly and was about to chase after when he heard the familiar call of Gobber calling towards him.

"Hiccup, you can't hide for long its time you paid by doing extra work for me at the forge" shouted Gobber who was approaching the edge of the cove.

Hiccup turned towards Toothless and told him to fly towards Gobber, whatever the matter was with Astrid would have to wait for now, unless he wanted another person going psychotic on him.

Whatever he had first thought was wrong with Astrid was much worst. Since when did Astrid cry?

"Hiccup, get here now!" Gobber belched at the top of his lungs, growing inpatient at the boy.

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter; I had a lot of fun writing it. I most likely will not be able to update until the weekend now due to exams and coursework due in at school.**

**If anyone could suggest a village/tribe name for the upcoming chapters that would be great, bearing in mind that it has to be fierce. **

**Once again thanks for reading and remember to review, as I love hearing what people think about the story.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Approaching storm

Chapter Four

Approaching storm

Hiccup had not gotten much sleep that night; thinking what on earth he had done to offend Astrid. He had pondered and pondered on the subject for a long time and was still left confused on what it could be; he had never seen her that angry before even when they were not friends she had never had acted like that. It would be a while before he forgot the fierceness and fire in those eyes, all reading one word 'kill', it broke his heart, no it had shattered it when she had stared at him like that.

A loud crash bellow followed by screaming voices awoke Hiccup to the situation that was happening in his lounge. He could vaguely hear what the voices were shouting at each other from below and his father's voice seemed to be getting louder and louder.

As he reluctantly pulled his body out of bed and walked over the banister, he had not needed to put on his metal leg, as he had left it in all night. He crouched down behind one of the wooden poles and peered down onto the scene below.

"This is outrageous" shouted Hiccups father.

Stoic's face was bright red, his eyes full of anger, his thick round hands held high above his head.

"You expect to allow this to go unpunished, let this little swine run around Berk after what he has done" Shouted Stoic.

Four other adults were also in the room with him; most recognisable was Gobber with his prophetic attachment where his arm and leg should be. Stood tall next to Gobber was a man called Maud; he was twice the size of Gobber in length and in muscle, his shaved face showing hints of blonde. Maud's head was bald and his helmet sat on top with a two thick horns curving out of the sides.

"Yes", said Maud, "There is nothing we can do about it, and you know that".

"This is an outrage!" shouted Stoic once again.

A woman stepped forward, small in height and a thin but mild figure took shape. He eyes were blue just like the sea's and her blonde hair was short and pulled tight into a bob while a headband sat promptly on top. She had a long white dress on with a brown belt drawn across her middle, pale creamy leggings where underneath and brown leather boots went up to her knee caps. A ring matching Maud's sat on her thin finger; they had been married for three years when spring would eventually come.

"Stoic, if we do not allow this to pass then we could have a full scale war on our hands, you know as well as anyone what those people are like" she said.

"Thank you for addressing the obvious Gin" said the small woman beside her.

She was indeed very small, the height disadvantage ran in the family, just like her older sister Gothi, Berk's village healer and wise woman, she had a tall stick with various charms on the top. She had a small hunch and dark brown eyes that when you looked into them you would imagine you were in a forest, lying against the ground.

"I am only addressing the situation Dorithea" Spoke Gin.

"Stop it now you two, we already have enough on our plate without you two tearing down Berk" said Maud sternly gazing at his wife and followed by scowling at Dorithea.

"Like she could do anything that consequential, look at her she is so tiny." Gin muttered under her breath.

"You should listen to Maud, we need to sort out this mess before it becomes a mountain" said Gobber.

Hiccup leg began to ache in pain so he reached down to scratch under the straps when he toppled over alerting the group bellow to his presence.

"Come out now" Said Stoic, his temper slowly cooling down.

Hiccup thought about trying to escape with Toothless but he was still asleep and he did not fancy facing an angry Nightfury this early in the morning, he might not live to see another day.

Hiccup got up and walked down the stairs to group, Maud rushed at him his hand tight around his throat. Gin screamed at her husband with Gobber was shouting telling him to put Hiccup down, that it was not worth it. Dorithea stared at the image in pure shock; her stick had dropped to the floor in surprise.

"Why were you spying boy? What did you hear?"Grunted Maud.

Stoic grabbed hold of Maud's shoulders and threw him across the room.

"Don't you dare touch my son again" said stoic.

At that moment Gobber went over to Maud and held him down so he would not charge again. Hiccup was grasping for breath and was leaning over him-self.

"Son?", there was pure concern in Stoics voice as he approached his son and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I fine thanks dad" said Hiccup. His hand drifted up and rubbed his sore neck where there was Maud's hand print spread across it. "And by the way I only heard about some grave disaster, what do you mean we could end up going to war?".

The whole room fell silent at the question and most of their heads fell towards their chests, Maud and Gin faces were pale white.

"Is someone going to tell me what is going on around here", spoke Hiccup, "War with who?".

"Hiccup it would be best if you don't know, you should take Toothless and leave until this meeting is over" said Stoic.

"Why is no one telling me what's going on, first Astrid now all of you" said Hiccup. He was getting frustrated and wanted answers to the many questions he had.

"Please son just go, please" said Stoic still avoiding his sons gaze.

"Fine" said Hiccup, he whistled for his great scaly lizard to follow him. When Toothless came down the stairs he stomped out of the room with the dragon in pursuit.

Once Hiccup had left and there were sure he was out of ears view Gobber walked over to his friend.

"You should have told him Stoic, he has a right to know" said Gobber.

"How could I, it would kill him" replied Stoic.

"You have to tell him at some point-" said Gobber.

"No!" shouted Astrid who had been lurking in the shadows while the group had been discussing. They all turned round in shock at her presence.

"It my burden, I will decide who gets to know and who doesn't thank you" she said.

"Astrid you have to tell him-"Gobber was interrupted again by Astrid.

"Like I said this is my business and Hiccup can never know", said Astrid, "And what do you mean it would kill him Stoic".

"Now that is something you need to ask him yourself lass, please just consider telling him." Said Gobber; a small hint of a smile on his face appeared on his face but quickly disappeared.

**XXX**

The air brushed through the man's black hair as he stood on the edge of the boats deck watching as the island was coming into view with his great blue eyes, it had been a three day journey getting back to his homeland to deliver the news to his father. Soon he would reach the island and the plan would be put into action.

He wore a military jacket which was only found in the more southern parts of the world, the inside was lined with white silk. He wore black trousers and around his waist he had a sturdy belt which held room for his sword and a quiver full of steel tipped arrows which he had invented himself. He had boots that came to his knees with three straps on the side keeping them tight to his knee. He had a white blouse underneath his jacket which laced at the chest. His bow was strapped to his back.

His face was very much defined and was clean-shaven. You could have called him perfect, even angled face if it was not for the scar that spread across the left side of his face. Beside him was his dragon, a 'Scraper'.

His body was shaped like a Nightfury, long spikes dotted along his tale like a Deadly Nadder. His body was emerald green and had eyes of pure sapphire with two small white dots as pupils. His wing bones were a dark black.

The dragon snaps his head upwards, and his eyes became slits. His gaze was on the form as it whizzed by, a low growl emitted from the deep part of his throat. His rider was alerted to his dragons distress turned towards him.

"What's wrong Tycoon?" said the man.

His head turned up to the sky, a small smirk produced at the corner of his mouth.

"Well, well. Looks like it's time to make our move" he said.

**Sorry for not updating in a while, I have been feeling ill lately and did not feel like writing anything. There have been 609 views for this story which is once again amazing, and thank you to dragonlover17 for following the story, hope you like the developments. **

**I currently have another story up called Forgive me which is a very 'short fic' that I written if you would like to check that out.**

**Thank you for reading and I hope you continue to read more of the story in the future. I will upload the next chapter sometime next week so keep an eye open for that.**


	5. Chapter 5 - The Bloody Boneheads

Chapter 5

The Bloody Boneheads

Hiccup was flying over the ocean when he spotted the ship sailing towards Berk. Immediately thinking it was another enemy come to strip Berk of its dragons, Hiccup flew up to the clouds and started surveying it from above.

It was harder to hide in the clouds during the day time with Toothless, especially since the 18ft black monstrous creature was standing out like Astrid in a crowd, not that his attention was always on her, they were just friends and that was how it was always going to be. Even more so since the 'row' they had the day before.

Hiccups shoulders slumped and sighed heavily as he thought about how he was back to square one with acquiring Astrid's love. Toothless ear hit his rider requesting his attention to be brought back to the situation at hand.

The symbol on the ships sale was different to any Hiccup had seen before. The mark was red and in shape of a dragons skull with two bull like horns jutting out of the side. There was a group of about fifty men and woman all wearing armour, some had more regal looking clothes but there was always a weapon attached somewhere to him or her.

His thoughts once again drifted back to the blonde Viking, Astrid would be completely at home with all of them. This had been happening all day to Hiccup, he would try to focus on one thing and concentrate, but his mind would always find a way back to her.

Toothless once again slapped his ear into the riders face to bring him back to reality. The Nightfury was annoyed at his rider, these days riding was a two person job and with a suspected enemy of Berk below they had to be careful and pay attention.

The mentioning of war also had shaken Hiccup up, Viking were always in battle with each other, it was an occupational hazard. However the way the others were this morning about it made Hiccup consider what would happen, they could easily win a war what with the dragons, but he was not sure he would be able to kill a person in cold blood.

He shook his head trying to clear it of thoughts and brought his attention back to what was happening around him.

"Ok, let's go Toothless", said Hiccup

Hiccup turned the duo in the direction of berk and dashed off towards the island, unknown that they were being watched from below.

**XXX**

Astrid opened the door to the hut and walked in slowly trying not to disturb the sleeping bundle. She walked over towards the room that held it and took a peep inside to make sure everything was ok. Towards its side sat Stormfly who was keeping careful watch over it.

The dragon was blue all over with a white underbelly; her wings had thin outlines circles of yellow dotted around. Red marking was at the end of the wings and circled around the dragons eyes. Huge, menacing pale yellow spikes stuck out of her tail and at the top of her head curved out like a crown. One spike was thicker than the others on top of her head and her eyes were gold with a fin strip of black that was her pupil. Stormfly's teeth were curved inwards and she had two long legs with sharp claws at the end.

Astrid shuffled through the sack she was carrying and found a piece of chicken. Stormfly looked up in excitement and bobbed up and down happily, she threw the piece of poultry into the great beast's mouth which it gladly chomped on.

After gladly swallowing the piece of chicken Stormfly got up from her post and walked over to her rider who still looked depressed, even though she was plastering a smile on. She cooed softly trying to cheer her up, but even she knew any effort to try and get her to be happy again were all in vain. Stormfly did not understand it fully, but something had happened that had changed the girl in front of her, perhaps forever.

Astrid had been having a very difficult time, especially since signing the contract to the mad man. Everyone knew she was giving her life away, it would slowly kill her, but she had no choice, it would keep them safe and they would not have to go in to a war because of it. It would save her parents pride that they had left to the name Hofferson and keep any harm coming to the sleeping bundle; which she had promised herself to protect with her life.

She was still mad at how Hiccup had no idea what was going on surely he could tell, couldn't he? I mean she knew the boy could read her virtually like a book and know when and when not to say or do anything, so why was he so blinded to the situation. Why would her burden kill him anyway, it had nothing to do with him and it's not like he cared for her, did he.

She slumped down in the chair and took up her axe and started to sharpen it, this was a common activity she did when she was stressed or annoyed with something.

She was sharpening it with a special stone Hiccup had found for her years ago, when they were kids. She remembered the way his hands moved carefully over hers, showing her how to get the best results from it. His hands were smooth and gentle considering he was a blacksmith and surprised her slightly at how warm they had felt at the time. The blush that had produced on his face after he realized that he had allowed his hands to linger on hers for awhile was unforgettable, it had made her heart flutter, but she would not tell anyone that, especially him. She was not allowed to think like that anymore, Astrid had a responsibility towards the village and to her family to keep intact; she would not put them at risk again.

Aster sharpening her axe to perfection a small yawn emitted from Astrid and she soon found herself asleep in her chair dreaming peacefully.

**XXX**

When Hiccup arrived with Toothless back at Berk he rushed up towards his hut that sat overlooking the village on top of the hill.

He shoved open the door to the household and hurried over to his father completely forgetting about Gobber who he had shoved onto the floor as he had walked by.

"Blimey Hiccup what wrong", Gobber said as he pulled himself up from the floor.

"Sorry Gobber, It is just that I spotted a ship with armed men and woman heading over to Berk" said Hiccup, finally taking a breather.

Stoic and Gobber took a quick glance at each other; the same sympathetic expression filled both of their eyes.

'They were not meant to be arriving to the island this early', thought Stoic, 'the poor girl'. Hiccup seeing the two's faces asked what was the matter.

"What's wrong?", Hiccup asked.

"What did the ship look like? Did you get a good look at the sails? Hiccup you have to tell us everything" said Stoic as he gripped his son's shoulders.

He stared into his sons emerald eyes but had to look away. 'After today, would they ever shine like that again', Stoic considered, 'but it could not be them, could it'.

"The symbol was like nothing I have ever seen. I mean it was a dragon's skull with bull horns coming out of it. I have never seen a tribe sign like that before, it was almost frightening." Hiccup admitted.

Stoic hastily let go of his sons shoulder and stumbled back a bit before quickly regaining his posture.

'Odin bless her soul, Astrid needed more time', Stoic thought.

"Dad", Hiccup asked.

"Gobber, you get the village surrounded on the docks and get the gang plank ready for our visitors", ordered Stoic.

"Stoic perhaps we could-", Gobber was cut short by Hiccup.

"No there's too much that could go wrong", replied Stoic.

"Who are they?", questioned Hiccup.

"They're the Bloody Boneheads", said Stoic.

"I sure there not that bad", said Hiccup sarcastically.

"No they're name is Bloody Boneheads but in truth they should be called the Fiery Fariers in my opinion, they burnt down their village twice, just because they got cold, killed countless of their own in the blazes," replied Gobber.

"Goober go do what I told you now, I need a private word with my son", said Stoic sternly.

Gobber nodded to the two of them and gave a look to Stoic telling him to 'be careful'.

"There was no need to talk like that to Gobber", said Hiccup.

"I'm the chief and in these situations orders must be carried out to the letter", said Stoic.

Hiccup dared not to continue, he had only seen his father like these a few times before. Once when a peace treaty was broken after just one day of signing with another tribe and when his mother disappeared and they believed her to be dead.

A moment of silence passed between the two before Stoic spoke again.

"Sit down son", said Stoic.

Hiccup went over to one of the wooden chairs and sat down twiddling his thumbs, he watched as his father came and sat down in front of him; his face plastered with seriousness. Whatever Stoic was going to be said, was important.

"Son, I need you to be careful around these people, they don't get their name for nothing. Please for me, could you just try and stay away from them", said Stoic.

"Of course" said Hiccup.

"Thank you hiccup", said Stoic, "You should probably get ready to greet our guests; you are the heir to the tribe after all. Just keep a careful watch, they are not trust worthy."

Stoic nodded to his son before he left Hiccup to get ready. The next few days were sure going to be nothing less than chaotic.

**XXX**

The terror nipped at the sleeping girl's hand, with a screech she woke up and looked down at the creature that was sitting on the arm of the chair. Astrid's other hand moved up too cup the small bite mark which was slowly pouring out with blood, lucky for her that Terrible Terror bites were not venomous.

The familiar face of Scar hit her as her eyes started to take in her surroundings. Stormfly was sitting next to the basket resting next to the small bundle inside as it laid sleeping wrapped in many blankets to keep away the cold. A warm fire was going inside the chimney keeping the place vaguely warm.

She reached down and picked the note which was attached to the terrors neck and unfolded it.

'_Get ready to meet me at the docks.'_

Once she had gone over the note, she tore it up and threw it into the fire. Stormfly who had just awakened from her slumber immediately proceeded to showing the Terror out of the allowed a few tears to escape from her eyes before she went to greet her new life at the docks.

XXX

The whole of Berk stood waiting for the ship as it sailed into the harbour; the size of the vessel was huge compared to the ones that were dotted around berk. Three huge masts sprung up from the deck of the ship and their sail displayed the tribe's emblem clear in the bright blue sky. Shields dotted along the side the ship were all painted with different symbols, dragons that hiccup did not knew existed perched on different parts of the ships.

Men and woman on board were all armed in some way or form. Some had bows strapped to their backs other had some battle axes and hammers in these hands showing of their strength. Two men from Berk stepped from the crowd and set down the gang plank onto the other ship.

One of the men was Snoutlout's father, Spitelout, his dark black hair was kept back from his face with his helmet and his sword hung at the side of his belt. Two shoulder pads were on his shoulders with round bronze plates on top. He had a scaled armour skirt on his waist, on his forearms he had thick bracelets with dark string wrapped around them keeping them together.

The other man, who was now positioned on the other side of the gang plank, was called Alf. He had long curvy brown hair that stopped just below his shoulders; he wore similar clothing to Spitelout but also had an axe strapped to his back. His beard was also clean shaven and had fur boots that went up to below his thighs on his legs.

Hiccup stepped forward with Toothless at his side along with Stoic and Gobber as they approached the end of the gang plank ready to greet them. Hiccup took a quick glance at the two men and immediately knew something was not right about this, however, the thoughts were put away when Astrid emerged from the crowd and walked up to them. His heart was throwing itself at his rib cage faster than a Nightfury, Hiccups body heated up dramatically and he was sure he was as red as a tomato in the face.

"My god Freya", Hiccup heard himself whisper.

Astrid looked incredible in the midday light; her hair was out of its usual braid and hang gently free around her back. She wore a plain white dress, laced partly at the chest, with a brown belt circled twice around her middle. She wore her family ring on her finger and a sword that had belonged to her father before he died tied to her belt. Astrid still had the head band on her head which for once kept her hair out of her eyes and let their deep blue shine through.

She had delicate leather shoes on her feet that were opened at the top and showed some of her bare skin. She wore nothing on her arms and her usual shoulder pads had been dropped, leaving them bare, apart from the straps of her dress. Two thin golden bracelets went around her wrists with intricate designs of serpents swimming.

Hiccup nearly fell over gawking at her, but was luckily held up by toothless who had placed his head beneath his arm for support. He could of stood there all day gazing at her beauty, but felt an arm pull him aside as she walked up to the chief, saluted and continued up the gang plank onto the ship.

When she re-emerged she was with two other men, one was clearly older than the other. From the same shape of their bodies you could easily tell that they were father and son.

They both wore formal clothing, a sword each was strapped to their belts showing the bull dragon symbol in their hilts. Both had black boots that went up to their knees with strapped keeping them secure. The skin colour was tanned and was extraordinary, as it was hardly warm enough on berk to even get past white.

The father was much bigger than the son, and made him look like a toothpick, similar to how Stoic made Hiccup look. He had a long beard that stopped just above his waist; a small scar was positioned just above his eyelid.

Hiccup turned to face the son and was shocked when he saw the huge mark that took up the majority of the left side of his face. Unlike the father, the son had a military jacket on him, which had hints that the inside was lined with pure white silk.

What got Hiccup even more was when the son and Astrid walked down the plank; their arms were entwined with the others. He felt his heart drop slightly, they stopped just in front of the Berkains and she spoke.

"Sir, this is Amando from the Bloody Boneheads, heir to their throne and my fiancé", she said.

**Well the drama is only just beginning I can tell you that now. Thank you for reading the story so far and continue to read.**

**Thank you 'Ninjago123' and 'ckachadorian' for following the story, I hope you liked the developments in the chapter.**

**Dawnbreaker Dragon for reviewing as always, well done on your guess and I am glad that I am keeping up the tension and drama.**

**Another thank you to 'Galloping Horses' for helping with this chapter, I really appreciate it. In addition thank you for following the story as well.**

**Please review, I like to hear what you think of the story and how it has progressed.**


	6. Chapter 6 - Rain

**Chapter 6**

**Rain**

'Fiancé', Hiccup thought.

Hiccups heart was slowly cracking up; his body was losing its colour. He felt his eyes burn, threatening to flood his face with tears.

'This was surely a joke', thought Hiccup, 'we had an understanding, everyone knew, she knew. Did she not?'. 'Was what she did all a lie, a way of getting power and status because I'm the chiefs' son?'. Hiccups breath became quicker and lighter as he went over the situation, his heart sinking further and further. 'It must have to be a joke, a sick and cruel one at that but a joke. Or was I the joke? Did she use me?'. Thousands of thoughts dashed through Hiccups mind as he considered all the possibilities. His heart yearned for this all to be a dream, for him to wake up, for this all too be some sort of nightmare that could go away.

The couple took a further step towards the group and he looked down at their now entwined hands, they seemed to fit perfectly with each other. Amando then took something out of his pocket and placed it on Astrid's finger next to her family ring.

Hiccup caught a better glimpsed at the destructive object that decorated it as her hand turned to face them. A gold ring in the shape of two serpents danced around each other, small gems where inserted into the metal framework. When you looked closer you could make out the description 'Amor aeternus', Hiccup knew it was Latin for 'eternal love'.

The cracks in his heart spread throughout it, until they had shattered it completely. It was the last straw; Hiccups legs broke out from below him as he fell to floor, limp. Fainting seemed like the best solution to escape this mess, this horrible, infuriating, heartbreaking mess. Muzzled voices spoke in worried concern all around him; however he just hoped that the ground would just swallow him up at that point, darkness was welcoming, it was a way out.

**XXX**

Stoic rushed to pick up his son, but was already beaten to him by Gobber who was already carrying him up the hill to his home. Stoic was not surprised at his son's reaction to the news; he was as well when he first heard it. He had always thought that he would never need to arrange a marriage contract for Hiccup because the two teens were already wild eyed for each other and mostly everyone else knew it. So when the girl of his son dreams walks into his home discussing her engagement to the other man, he had half a thought of fainting himself.

He knew the reasons behind the marriage, but they made him shudder every time he went over the facts. 'No one should have to go thought that, especially her', Stoic thought to himself.

"Well that was entertaining", said a familiar voice, "what are next, jugglers".

Stoic blood boiled with rage. How dare he act like that, especially since this was his entire fault! He had to resist the desperate erg to rip the chiefs' head off from his shoulder and stick it on a spike and burn it while he stood there laughing.

Luckily for the man Spitelout intervened before any major damage was done.

"He has an upset stomach sir", said Spitelout, "not friendly with the sea should we say".

Spitelout knew this was a rubbish excuse, but he had to do something before the two chiefs had a fight to the deaf and they were thrown into the chaos of a blood bath.

"A Viking who's scared of the sea", spoke the chief, "that is the funniest thing I have ever heard"; the man chuckled to himself, "although he doesn't look much like a Viking, more like a talking fishbone". "Are you sure he's your son Stoic?".

The crew behind were laughing at the antics but fell silent when the son dismissed them. Amando then turned back to his father.

"Father, I think I should take Astrid away from this, in case she gets ill and she can show me around her home", spoke Amando.

"I'll be delighted", said Astrid.

"Of course son, I will meet you later at dinner", replied the father.

The two passed a quick nod and the couple walked off into the distance.

"Always the noble, not much of a Viking either though", the rival chief sighed before he continued, "Now Stoic, let's get down to business. I'll be needed of somewhere for my people to stay, you shall show us to our accommodation", said the Boneheads chief.

"Certainly Agmundr, Spitelout take our guests to their home for the next few days", said Stoic.

"Um, I'll correct you there, the wedding is now being held on your island", spoke Agmundr, "It will take place in the next month or so".

"What?!" shouted Stoic. A few days and Stoic could manage with the man, but a month and his son having to watch his parade that was not going to happen. He would rather die than allow that vermin to torture his son.

"Calm down, we wanted her to be around her dear friends, don't you think she would like that", said Agmundr.

"Of course, we would be delighted", said Spitelout, once again intervening between the two.

Stoic glared at Spitelout, he was not the chief and he would not allow that moron to stay here. Thinking further over it perhaps it would give time for Hiccup and Astrid to sought things out. Maybe it could give the girl the time she needed and if anything happened to hurt his son during it, he would personally murder the man were he stood. A small grin was brought to his face at the thought, however it quickly disappeared.

"Fine, Spitelout shall show you to your rooms", grumbled Stoic.

"I'm glad we can see eye to eye Stoic", replied Agmundr.

"We do not see eye to eye Agmundr, but I will permit your stay", said Stoic.

The two chief were then caught up in a death stare, not either of them willing to back down from the other.

"This way sir", said Spitelout.

Stoic was happy to keep the chief away from him, the foul excuse of a man was going to drive him insane and then we would see who's berserk. Dagur, hand over your title. Stoic turned and saw Alf just about to walk off before he stopped him.

"Ah Alf may I perhaps have a word with you", said Stoic.

"Certainly", replied Alf.

"I feel the details of this conversation might be unwelcoming to nosey ears", Stoic spoke silently.

The crowd had disappeared by then and only a few had stayed behind to help with the Bloody Boneheads luggage; which mostly consisted of food, rare gems and tons of weaponry of all different sorts.

Stoic and Alf walked off towards his home, Stoic received some sympathetic glances from the villagers as the two walked up the hill, and he knew they were all directed towards Hiccup. When Stoic was sure he was out of ears view he took Alf around the corner, down an alley way between two houses.

"I need you to do a favour for me", said Stoic.

"What is it sir", replied Alf.

"I need you to keep an eye on Astrid's fiancé, find out what he is like, what he knows of the marriage, befriend him in a sought", said Stoic.

"You want me to spy on are guest? Stoic what is the matter? For you wanting me to spy it must be something major", spoke Alf, "we are old friends Stoic, you can tell me".

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you that Alf, but keep this in mind, if they find out you are spying I will deny all knowledge of it. You will be on your own", said Stoic.

"I understand and I will do it, just promise me one thing", said Alf.

"What is it?", asked Stoic.

"I have taken a liking to you son, Hiccup; he is a good man and is a trusted friend of mine. He has done my family many favours over the years and we very much appreciate it. Tell him that you are proud of him more often, he will need it now more than ever" spoke Alf.

"I will and thank you for your assistance", replied Stoic.

Alf shook Stoics arm to secure their arrangement, then he saluted to the chief and the two of them went their separate ways.

**XXX**

Gobber sat waiting patiently for Hiccup to wake up; he needed someone there for him, making sure he did not go mad when he woke up. Toothless had disappeared earlier after making sure the boy was safe.

Gobber looked towards the bed where Hiccup was sleeping, He always looked so peaceful when he was sleeping; Gobber often wandered what it was about. Gobber mainly thought it was most likely he was dreaming about dragons; perhaps something crazing new invention that 'would change the Viking world as they knew it' or the burly blonde lass.

Gobber felt the upmost sympathy for the lad, he really thought that she would have told Hiccup and took his advice. It was obvious as soon as they saw Hiccups reaction to her at the docks that she had been stubborn, just like how her father had been, and had not told him.

His attention was suddenly drawn to Hiccup as he started to stir in his sleep trying to murmur a word, but was incapable of pronouncing anything in his worn out state. A small knock came at the door from downstairs, distracting him. Gobber had to reluctantly get up from his post by the boy and hobble to answer it.

When he opened the door, he saw her there standing in front of him; the root of all the lad's problems and hopes, Astrid.

She did not want to make eye contact with the smith and the other father, Hiccup had in his life. Astrid felt the piercing gaze of his mentor stare her down like she was a leaf that had not been cleared out yet or destroyed.

"You hurt him", spoke Gobber sternly, "badly".

"I know that now, but don't think that it didn't hurt me because it did. It hurts every second, but there is nothing I can do about it, ok, so do not try and persuade me otherwise. It will not work!", replied Astrid.

"You should have listened to me lass, and then we might not be in this mess", said Gobber, "He could have helped you".

"I tried that the first time", Astrid mumbled, "There was no way out, apart from that one option and there was no way I was going to take it! You would have to kill me first and I'm a stubborn bugger, blame my bloodline!" shouted Astrid.

She was glaring back now, her eyes were flaming hot; the old man was trembling in his boots. He had never seen a Hofferson mad, only heard legends about it and if this was the warm up he did not want to be around for the rest. He took a few steps back in shock, 'blimey' he thought. He knew the situation was taking its toll on her, but never like this.

Gobber's fatherly instinct kicked into overdrive. He wanted to rush to the girl, comfort her like he had done when her parents had died, when her uncle Finn had passed away. Protect the little girl that she had locked away in fear of what people would think of her.

"Astrid", said Gobber worriedly.

He looked in front and saw her sink towards the ground, her arms wrapped around her, her legs folded tightly against her chest. Her weeping filled the room. She never allowed someone to see her weep apart from Gobber. He was like a father to her, unlike her adoptive parents.

"Astrid", repeated Gobber in soothing tones, "It was not your fault, you cannot blame yourself for this".

Gobber knelt down on his good knee and picked the girl up and hugged her, he felt her tears stain his shirt. He did not care if anyone saw him showing his sensitive side, but he had to protect the girl who had been hurt in a battle she could not win on her own, not this time.

Astrid stopped her tears, stepped away from Gobber and gradually started trying to build her walls back again. Hiccup was not the only person who looked to Gobber as a guidance figure in these times, he had been there on countless occasions and he never told a sole about how week she was. There was no denying it, Astrid Hofferson was weak, but she covered it up in an armoured shell and hit anyone who tried to break through to her.

After she had helped get her 'fiancé 'and his tribe, not to mention his 'father' to their rooms, she had made the excuses, saying that she needed to train and ran off to find Gobber. Knowing he would not be at the forge she walked to the chiefs' hut expecting to see Gobber looking after Hiccup.

"Is he ok?", asked Astrid shakily.

"We both know the answer to that lass", said Gobber.

"No, I already know that bit, just is he alright", said Astrid. Her stern features were back in place and the little girl who had been allowed to cry for a few moments was hidden away again.

"He's-", Gobber was interrupted when a large crash was heard, followed by a ruckus being made upstairs.

The two both knew what was happening and both of their hearts were breaking up about it.

"Hiccup" they both whispered. They both made a quick pray to Odin and the other gods before they rushed up the stairs.

When they reached his room Astrid paused, she felt weak again and was terrified with what she would find on the other side, no matter what Gobber said, it was her fault and she had caused this. She could hear Gobber trying to calm Hiccup down on the other side of the door. She was curious when she could not hear Toothless there as well; he needed all the friends he could get right now.

Astrid took a deep breath before she continued into the room.

**XXX**

Hiccup was about to punch Gobber in the face when it walked into the room. She looked petrified, hurt and scared at the sight. He did not care what she did anymore, he trusted and loved her and she threw it all back in his face. His best friend betrayed him and he would not let her get away with it.

"Hiccup!", shouted Astrid, "what the hell do you –"

"You don't get to talk!", interrupted Hiccup.

"Hiccup calm down lad", said Gobber. He placed two hands on Hiccups shoulders trying to keep him calm and was shocked when he shocked them off and pushed him back.

"Shut up and get out of here, this is between me and the witch standing over there!", screamed Hiccup, "I don't want any of your two faced pitying".

Gobber swung a punch at Hiccup's face and was shocked when he caught it, throwing him onto the floor.

"Hiccup you cannot talk to her like that, please just let her explain", said Gobber.

Astrid was on verge of tears again, this would be the third time she had cried that day. She had done this to Hiccup, poor, sympathetic, kind, caring Hiccup. She had been the one to tear him apart as well as herself.

"Shut up, crying won't help you", snarled Hiccup. "I don't care about any of your insolent, little problems".

"Hiccup ...please" said Astrid, it was a mere echo to what it was once. Her body was violently shaking and her breath was raspy.

"I don't care about any of your insolent, little problems", belted hiccup.

"Please", she whispered. She was barely managing to stand up on her own two feet at this point, and was using the door as a support beam.

"Just leave, now", snarled Hiccup, "I don't want to see you, just go".

"You have no idea do you, but you would if you paid attention", said Astrid. A small smile hinted itself at her lips.

"I told you I don't care", Hiccup snarled, "Go make a happy little family".

"One step ahead of you", she murmured. Hiccup was the only one seemed to not hear her, apart from Gobber who was now backing onto his feet and standing between the two in case anything happened.

He was in shock about everything around him. Hiccup had just insulted Astrid and made jokes about a subject he knew she is sensitive about. He was scarred for him, this could go two ways, either Astrid kills him on the spot or.

As if his question was answered Astrid inhaled a deep breath before turning and ran out of the door. Hiccup just stood there watching her leave, his face going pale as he realised the reality of everything that had just happened.

"Hiccup, what the hell was that about!?", shouted Gobber, "she came to see if you were all right, to talk to you and you turned her out like an eel to a dragon".

"What do you want me to do? No one is telling me anything and I want answers", shouted Hiccup, "I off to find my so called loyal companion, at least he can be honest with me".

Hiccup barged pass Gobber and then charged downstairs, slamming the door behind him, leaving a wrecked Gobber in his wake.

"Oh Hiccup, this is only just the start lad I fear", said Gobber to himself.

**Thank you for reading as always. I hope this contained enough drama for you, as I can guarantee there is more to come.**

**The Latin used on the ring, I went through various resources to find, so I can not entirely say if it is correct or not. However, this is what most of the resources suggested or used.**

**Thank you to 'TheObsessed1998' for following the story, furthermore another thank you to 'ginooki21' for also following and leaving a comment. Whoever those random guests were, thank you to them for reviewing the story. Much appreciated.**

**I hope you like the story so far and continue to read on in the future.**


	7. Chapter 7 - The Hunt

**Chapter Seven**

**The Hunt**

Hiccup was not the only one who was in search of answers; Toothless was also on the look for them. Like everyone else on Berk he knew how the two teens regarded each other, they could not go a minute without one of them blushing and gawking at the other.

If anyone could give him answers then it would be Astrid's Deadly Nadder, Stormfly. Toothless did not know what he could do with the answers, but if it could help him get the two back together and make his rider happy, then anything was worth it. There was also something about the rival chief that he did not trust. Call it a Nightfuries intuition.

Toothless stuck his nose up into the air trying to catch a sense of the dragon. The scent soon enough floated into his nostrils and he began the chase.

'Got you', Toothless thought as he approached his target, 'you are going to give me answers one way or the other'.

Toothless crept up slowly through the dense undergrowth of the forest, his paws carefully avoiding anything that could scare the she-dragon off. If she got a chance to fly, he could not do anything but wait, and he was not a fan of that.

Toothless edge even more closer to Stormfly, trying not to make a sound; as she started tucking into a small fish that she had just picked out of the river. Suddenly a small Terror gracefully glided down just in front of her. He watched carefully a little Terrible Terror walked up to her proudly, with a note tucked around his neck. Toothless recognised it from earlier; it had delivered a message to Astrid.

XXX

"What do you want?!", shouted Stormfly angry at the Terror's presence and the distress that usually followed afterwards.

"Just to deliver a message as always", said Scar smugly, "I thought she was supposed to be with you training? Where is the little brat then?".

Stormfly raised her spiked tail in the air menacingly at the small creature.

"Calm down, I would not dare hurt her or her little runt", he snarled back.

"You dare touch her and the only part of you left will be a skeleton", Shouted Stormfly.

"Last time I checked you were not a scrapper", smirked Scar.

Stormfly lowered her tail bellow Scars neck, with one of her razor sharp spikes below his neck causing a small trickle of blood to follow down his neck.

"You best spit it out quickly", said the Nadder.

The terrible Terror started to choke overdramatically and reluctantly Stormfly removed her tail spikes away.

"Like I said, I came to bring a message", said The Terror, "I'll leave it with you". He glared at Stormfly before proceeding.

The little Terror took the message from his throat and tossed it in his mouth to Stormfly. Who caught it on one of her spikes. After Scar was satisfied with that Stormfly had the message safely, he flew away.

XXX

Toothless took this as his time to corner the Nadder and finally find out some answers. 'What was the note? What happened with Astrid and who is that Terror master?'. He had a vague suspicion of who the Terrors master might be. If he was correct, then he would enjoy watching the monster plead for mercy under his grip for hurting his friends. Toothless had grown to like Astrid, almost as much as Hiccup over the years and if this Terror was causing her pain, he better watch out.

Toothless emerged from his hiding place in the shrubbery and walked over to Stormfly.

"What was that all about?", asked Toothless.

Stormfly jumped up in shock, she hadn't seen the Nightfury around anywhere. Perhaps she could lead him off the chase.

"Ooh toothless, just a small dispute", said Stormfly, "It's nothing to worry about".

"You now I'm not buying it Stormfly. What is wrong, tell me", said Toothless.

"I like I said it's nothing to worry about", spoke the Nadder.

Stormfly began to walk away from Toothless and headed towards the town. 'Oh no, you don't', thought Toothless.

Toothless sprinted in front of the Nadder, virtually blocking her path.

"Please, He said something about Astrid. Please help me and I might be able to help you, help Astrid", Toothless pleaded. The answers were so close to being found, he was not going to let them escape just like that.

"You're not going to give up, are you toothless", sighed Stormfly.

"You know, I may have stubbornness issues", laughed Toothless.

"Sarcasm never suits you, now I be on my way", said Stormfly.

"Blame the boy", replied Toothless, "Please, I promise I can help".

"No you can't, what's done is done", said Stormfly, suddenly an idea pop into her head. 'Perhaps her rider would be able to smile after all'. She looked down at the expectant Nightfury still blocking her path. "But you might be able to ease the aftermath at least", spoke Stormfly.

"I'll do anything to help Hiccup and Astrid", said Toothless.

"Follow me", said Stormfly.

She turned and headed towards the mountain regions of berk, inclining her head to tell Toothless to follow her further into the thick forest.

XXX

The old man walked up to the young man, he had changed a lot since he last saw him. He was about twice the size he was last time they meet. The scar that took up most of his face was still there, a shocking reminder to the power and fierceness that his father held.

The boy now man turned around and faced him, his smile went from ear to ear on his face. The whole area around him just seemed to lighten up at the boy's mere presence. His usual attire had been switched for a plain shirt over some brown trousers, with fur boots on his feet.

He placed his sword back into his belt socket, and ran up to him.

"Uncle", he shouted, "I did not think it was you earlier. I've missed you, it has been years".

'Why was he involved in this mess, his only just becoming a man', he thought as he joined the young man in an embrace.

"What's wrong?", the lad asked.

"Nothing Amando", he reassured the boy.

His eyes were just like his mothers no matter how many people said he looked like his father. He could see Amando's mother shine in him. He had loved Amando's mother, even though she was married to Agmundr, his brother, he could not help himself but admire the strong women that stood proudly on this earth before she died.

The man had made a promise to Amando's mother, that he would protect the boy with every fibre in his body, before he inevitably passed over into Valhalla himself. There was no way he was going to break it.

"I saw you sparring just now, very well done. Your form is improving dramatically, your mother would be proud", he said.

The boys face dropped at the hearing of his mother, his smile faded.

"Congratulations on the wedding news", said the boy's uncle, trying to lighten the news.

"Thanks I cannot wait, I just hope that perhaps my bride will be as happy as me on the day", spoke Amando.

"I am sure everything will go fine", the older man reassured.

Amando slowly nodded in agreement. He was amazed when his father had revealed the news of his marriage to the young Viking. He had met her a few times before and had instantly fallen head over heels for her, not just for her beauty but for intelligence and kind heart she had.

When he was told that she had signed it, he imagined that she would be as happy as well, but she had not stayed long after his tour of the island saying she needed to train. He kindly offered to go with her; however she said it was better if she practised by herself, proclaiming she would be embarrassed to mess up in front of her future husband and not to worry because she would have Stormfly with her.

'Husband', thought Amando. He could not wait until the day he could call himself that and his wife; each minute was an ache that he did not want. However, he would be patient; it would give them more time to bond. He could not wait to discover more about Astrid, every small thing made his heart already leap with joy.

Seeing his nephews' troubled face he decided to break him away from his thoughts. "You look hungry, you should hurry to 'The Great Hall' before all the food disappears", he said.

"Are you coming?", replied Amando.

"No I will see you later", he spoke.

"I hope we get more time to catch up later", said Amando; before he headed off towards the village, excited that he would be able to spend more time with the two people he loved most in the world.

"I hope so too", said the older man to the retreating figure, "Before it's too late".

XXX

Toothless and Stormfly were slowly climbing their way up to the hut in the distance, a strange but familiar smell drifted through the Nightfuries senses as they gradually got closer. Small muffled moans of something could be heard from the inside, it seemed to be alerted to the presence of the dragons.

Stormfly led toothless through some sort of back entrance to the hut; which worked on a thing Hiccup called a latch, so that it would swing shut behind anyone who entered. He squirmed through the hole and followed the Nadder to a room further back in the complex. The smell that had met his nostril got stronger; the familiarity of it but strangeness still confusing the poor Nightfuries mind at to what it could possibly be.

As he walked into the room, he was completely shocked. Astrid was standing there white in the face, carrying something in her arms.

'Is that...Was that... oh my' thought Toothless.

**I hope this was an interesting read for you, especially with the dragons' points of views in the story. I thought it would be amusing to see their focus as well, please do tell me what you thought of that. Originally this was going to be part of chapter six, but I felt it would have been too long and I wanted to change a majority of it.**

**I am afraid that I will not be uploading for some time now and I deeply apologise for this. I will not be able to do this because I have months of various different exams and mocks to revise for over the duration of the next 3-5 months. I once again apologise for this and also the lateness of this chapter and hope that you may forgive me in time.**

**Another apology for the rather rubbish cover I made for this story in my spare time, I thought it would make the story itself have a bit more personality to it. **

**On a positive note, thank you to 'Ginnsaltius' and 'ginooki21' for reviewing this story. I do love hearing people reactions and views to this and I hope to be hearing more in the future. Another thank you to 'XxPinkXMustachexX' and 'Shadowhunterchronicleslover13' for liking the story, much appreciated. **

**I hope you continue to read on in the future and have a lovely weekend.**


End file.
